"It's you!" he yelled. "From the party-" I immediately clasped my hand over his mouth, pushing him against the wall. We were very close, enough for me to smell the sweet yet brisk aroma of his cologne and want nothing more than to swim in the scent.
"Don't say anything about that," I hushed him. He chuckled and pulled my hand down. Now we were face to face and our hot breaths reached each other's skin. I was more nervous than ever. I hadn't ever been this close to someone, especially someone with such gorgeous features. I backed up and straightened myself out.
"What's the secret?" His beautiful brown eyes went wide and his seemingly supple lips remained in a smile. All I wanted to do was get that close to him again, but I had to keep my composure. I didn't need anyone overhearing, especially not Mr. Oswald, that I was at a frat party last night; it wasn't the impression I wanted to give.
"Nevermind that, what are you doing here?"
"Me? This is my house! What are you doing here?" he questioned. His arms were crossed over his chest and he looked up at me like he owned the room. I'm not sure if that really got across, though, considering I was much taller than he was.
"You're Leo," I put together and he nodded, duh. "I'm Keith. I work for your dad," I started walking down the hall and he followed quickly behind.
"Ah, you're the guy my dad has been raving about," I stopped.
"Raving? Why?" Leo laughed and touched a finger to my chest. Instinctively I grabbed his hand and pushed it away from me, but he twisted our hands and held mine, running his finger along my rough knuckles. His reflexes surprised me, but his hands were so warm and soft that I was left thinking about that. They were like nothing I had ever felt before; I wanted to hold Leo's hands for hours.
"That is for me to know, and for you to find out," I blushed. I blushed so hard that I wanted to run from him and never see him again. "You can't be that great, though; you never texted me." Leo pouted and let go of my hand. I wanted to reach for it again, but I stopped myself and looked down.
"I… I didn't know what to say," I mumbled and shook him off, embarrassed. I continued walking to the door with Leo close behind. I had never talked to another guy before. My high school was small and I kept to myself a lot. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, though, because I was consumed with work. Needless to say, I had no idea how to handle the influx of feelings and I was getting so flustered.
"Well," he jogged in front of me. "Let me help you." Once we finally reached the front door, Leo stood in front of it and brought me closer to him. I was afraid someone would walk past and see, but I was far too focused on him to react. Again, our breaths combined and I felt my heart practically pounding out of my chest. It was then I felt him reach into my back pocket and take out my phone, texting himself, being sure to lock eyes with me.
I would never let someone get so intimate with me. Truth be told, Leo would be hit by now if he were someone else. But, there was something about him that made me want to get even closer. It may have been infatuation or just the fact that this was the first guy to take interest in me and vice versa, but whatever it was, I was smitten.
"Good luck at work today!" he sent me off and I walked to my car in shambles. Leo was so intriguing. Growing up on the farm, all I had were my mom and dad. Yes, I went to public school and whatnot, but I never really connected with anyone to make friends. I didn't need to, though; I already knew everything I had to about everyone I saw. Leo was different. I knew nothing about him—we weren't even supposed to meet.
"Oh my god, Keith," I scolded myself. So much was just thrown at me and I felt like I was going to explode. I had to remain focused, though. Leo's dad, Dean, did just put a lot of faith in me and I couldn't screw it up. Whatever plans he had for me, in the long run, were going to be determined by how well I did on this next job. I felt the pressure seeping in already.
---
As my day went on, I eased up a bit. I just had to convince myself to focus on the job in front of me and it seemed to be working. As a supervisor, I was a little bit out of the manual labor portion of the job, but I found myself helping anyway. I grew up working, no point in stopping now. It cleared my head anyway—the mindless, repetitive actions of laying concrete or mortar relaxed me.
Time passing, though, meant Leo had the opportunity to text me and I was completely dumbfounded. I had no idea how to flirt or even what to talk about. I spent 20 years on a farm in the middle of nowhere for fuck's sake. But, I was trying and that's all that mattered. Leo was a flirt, however, and really interested in talking to me. I wasn't sure what he did all day to reply so quickly, but I felt bad when I couldn't due to work, and this was the first day we were talking! To feel better about everything, I told him I would text him when I was done with work and helping my dad out. Thankfully, he understood. I would expect him to, I did work for his dad after all.
I got off at around 5:30 and went right to my parents' house. The sun was still up and my dad said he needed some animal help so I did it. They were getting old, my parents, and having so many duties wasn't great for them on their own. I talked to them about hiring some local kids but they shrugged that idea off, with Dad not asking for help and all.
"Keith, finally," Dad yelled. "Help me push this would you?" I got behind the trough and took over, pushing it easily into position. It wasn't long after the cows began eating and we could hook the dairy cows up to begin milking. We sat across from each other in silence, just milking. I wanted to break the silence, though, and tell him about today.
"Dad, I have news,"
"Oh, yeah? What is it, Keith?" he mindlessly responded. He didn't look up from the pail, but I didn't mind.
"Talked to my boss today, he said he is letting me lead the next project. Says he has plans for me in the future," I reported it with a half-smile. I felt proud of myself, even just at the gesture of Mr. Oswald.
"Keith," Dad called me firmly. He had stopped milking and was looking at me with intent. He was serious now, and I had to listen. "That's good work." I felt my heart pound at those words. I wasn't an overly emotional guy, but I felt emotional now. It wasn't often that he expressed his feelings for me.
"Thank you." We finished milking after about an hour and headed inside. Mom had some dinner for us, so we ate and I told her, too, about the news. She was glad, but there was a small silence afterward and I knew what it was about.
"I will still be here for you," I found the courage to say. I didn't know how busy I would actually be, but I knew I would find the time. My parents needed help and I was the only one they would ask. "As much as I can."